


Getting a Smile

by Dazzledfirestar



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Get Together, M/M, Prank Wars, Rhodeyfest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2015-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-25 07:27:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4951741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dazzledfirestar/pseuds/Dazzledfirestar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He's not sure how he got to this point, but Col. James Rhodes isn't one to back down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Getting a Smile

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Notoyax17](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notoyax17/gifts).



> Written for Rhodeyfest's Gift Exchange on Tumblr.

He wasn’t entirely sure how it started. Well, no that wasn’t entirely true. He wasn’t entirely sure how the pranks started in the first place, but that was how the rest of it had started happening.

It wasn’t like he minded. Not really. In fact it reminded him a lot of the earlier days in his career and he was willing to admit that seeing the Maximoff kid smile as a bucket of green… something—he wasn’t going to ask Sam where he got it or which of the techs helped him out, as long as it wasn’t burning anything and nobody’s clothes were melting—fell on the good Captain America’s head was a good sign of things to come.

Maybe that was how it started. Trying to get Wanda to smile. Everyone was in on that though it had taken a talk with Vision on the logistics of pranks and the humor of harmless jokes to get him totally on board. Again, Wanda’s smile when Vision managed to pull one off on Rhodey himself was worth the pink hair he’d endured for a few days after that.

At least it was a decent shade of pink.

It was at the tail end of that week—his hair mostly just a deep shade of magenta in the right light—that something pinged on his radar. 

Well, no. What happened was more that Wanda sat down and smiled at him with that look like she knew exactly what he was thinking. Which, maybe she did but he was trying not to hold that against her.   
“He likes you, you know.”

That just confused the issue even more. “Uh… who?”

“The Captain.”

It took all his self-control not to spit his drink out. “Excuse me?” He let her words settle in for a moment before he shook his head. “I think you’ve got the wrong guy, Ms. Maximoff.” He smiled and shook his head. As appealing as the thought was, he figured Cap was more the straight forward type. He’d have said something. But then he was usually the straight forward type too and he hadn’t said a word about his own feelings. He told himself—again because he had to keep saying it or he’d say something stupid—that the team was more important than a crush.

“It’s true, Col. Rhodes.” Her voice cut across his musings and she shrugged, reaching for her own drink. He wasn’t sure why they stuck to the more formal ways of addressing each other but it felt comfortable in a way that calling her Wanda hadn’t quite settled into yet.

He couldn’t quite stop the next comment from leaving his mouth. “Pick that up with your powers?”

She smiled, a good sign that he hadn’t overstepped with her. They’d started out a little rocky due to his connection to Tony. He couldn’t blame her too much about that but they’d worked past it. Clearly further than he thought too since she felt comfortable enough to tell him their team leader was thinking thoughts about him. “No, I heard him and Sam talking about it. You should really talk to him about it. He seems very conflicted.”

In hindsight, he should have taken the glint in her eye as a warning of what was to come. The pranks were too good a cover for a meddling team to resist. He should have seen it coming. And if he didn’t, Cap probably should have.

Either way, he was pretty sure his younger self and Tony would have been proud of this. This was at their MIT days level of pranking. He couldn’t really bring himself to think about that though as he stood in the broom closet—was it really that small or was Captain America just taking up that much room? He’d never know—pressed against the man in question.

Jim sighed and tried to pass it off as casually as possible. He’d mastered that particular skill after years of Tony’s attempts to embarrass him or set him up with some random person who Tony was sure would be perfect for him. Or both. Usually both. “So…” He smirked a little. “How long before they lose interest and let us out?”

Cap—Steve… pressed that close, Steve seemed more appropriate—laughed softly. “I don’t know. They’re a persistent bunch.”

“Picked that up, huh?”

“I’m putting money on Natasha and Sam putting this together.” Steve sighed and shifted a little. “I’m sorry. They think they’re being helpful.”

Jim laughed and shook his head. “I might take that bet. Wanda probably had a hand in it too. Or at least she tried to warn me. Sort of.” He shook his head. “So, are the rumors true?”

“Cutting right to it, huh?”

“Sooner we figure out why they locked us in here, sooner they’ll let us out.”

“I have a theory.”

“I thought you might.”

Steve chuckled again. “If I’m out of line…”

“Cap…” Jim smirked a little. “Steve, I’d double down that you’re not out of line.”

“Okay.”

It only took a second after that for Steve to dip his head down and press his lips to Jim’s. It was tentative, not shy but definitely uncertain and he couldn’t quite stop himself from wondering just how much kissing the man had done since coming out of the ice. Either way, he kissed back and couldn’t quite stop himself from smiling as the man pulled back.

“I think I owe you dinner now.” Jim chuckled and stretched up for another kiss.

“Saturday?”

Before he could answer, several voices could be heard on the other side of the door. He smirked. “Saturday’s good. I think by then we’ll both need some time away from the gloating.”

He saw a look in Steve’s eyes that made him want to smile wider. A look that said that getting to know this man better was going to be more than worth the risk to the team or their professional relationship. And it told him that the ride was going to be fun. A lot of fun. He could almost kick himself for not noticing sooner. Or he would have if the closet hadn’t been quite so tiny. 

“Or we could turn those pranks around on them. I’m pretty sure this” Steve smirked. 

Jim pressed a little closer. Yeah, this was definitely going to be a hell of a ride. “I like the way you think, Captain.”

The door opened suddenly and Jim turned around to see Wanda smiling at them. “I am not the only one that needs to… what was it? Smile more?” Her eyebrow crept up a little. “I will keep them from gloating too much.” She waved over her shoulder and the door started to close again. “I will give you a little more time. Knock when you’re done.”

It felt a little silly, trapped—well, no. Not trapped. At least not in any way he’d be trapped since junior high—in a closet with the man he’d just agreed to have dinner with. But as Steve leaned in, Jim figured this wasn’t the time to overthink it. 

And he’d be buying Wanda roses later. A thank you seemed to be in order, after all.


End file.
